Volusia schools hope to stop budget ax at classroom door

LINDA TRIMBLEEDUCATION WRITER

Published: Sunday, February 24, 2013 at 4:10 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, February 24, 2013 at 7:14 p.m.

Kim Short and Joanna Kaney Olivari showed up at a Volusia County School Board meeting one week after voters rejected a school property tax hike in November, opposing any budget cuts that would harm their children's education and volunteering to help raise money if needed.

Facts

They've attended the board's meetings regularly ever since and plan to be there again Tuesday as the School Board starts looking at what to cut with a projected budget deficit of at least $25 million looming.

"I really don't know how we're going to dig out of this," said Olivari, who has two children at Pine Trail Elementary in Ormond Beach. "The priority needs to be to educate our children the best we can. The money just needs to be put in the right places."

"As a parent, I want the cuts to stay away from the classroom," said Short, who has three children at Sweetwater Elementary in Port Orange. "If parents aren't there and not standing up for their kids, who is going to stand up for them?"

School officials released a list of potential cuts before the tax vote that targeted elementary art and music programs, advanced and elective classes and pay for teachers to serve as coaches or club sponsors, among other things.

That list is still on the table, but school officials are looking elsewhere first in hopes of avoiding major cuts to classroom programs and student activities.

They say there are still too many unanswered questions — including how well Florida lawmakers will fund schools for the coming year and how much extra the district will have to spend on things like health insurance — to know if the budget ax can be stopped at the classroom door.

Tuesday's meeting is expected to be the first of several budget workshops, with decisions firmed up in May after lawmakers finish their annual session.

The School Board has already cut $80 million and 1,900 jobs since 2007, when state funding, property tax collections and enrollment started declining as the economy soured.

Gov. Rick Scott has proposed a $1.2 billion statewide increase in school funding for the year that starts July 1, but the final decision rests with the Legislature. Even if the governor gets his way, so much of the increase would be earmarked for specific purposes such as teachers' raises that Superintendent Margaret Smith expects only about $5 million would be available to help plug Volusia's budget hole.

One of the School Board's first steps to turn the tide of red ink was a vote this month to outsource 485 custodial and grounds maintenance jobs beginning in July. Based on industry averages, staff has estimated the district could save between $15 million and $21 million over four years.

Private firms have yet to submit proposals on taking over the school district services, and the board and superintendent have said they won't move ahead with outsourcing unless it would offer "substantial savings."

School Board member Linda Costello said taxpayers have been encouraging her to take a look at hiring private firms to take over other services now handled by school district employees, including garbage collection. "The majority of input I'm getting is to privatize everything that can be privatized," she said.

Employee salaries and benefits account for 82 percent of the $459 million operating budget, so school district workers may see some of the cuts coming out of their paychecks. Smith has already mentioned the possibility of furloughs that could last two weeks or a month and cutting some employees' work schedules from 12 months to 10 months.

The teacher workforce, which absorbed half the job cuts of the last six years, isn't as likely to be trimmed a lot this time around because school officials say they're committed to meeting the state constitutional limits on class size next fall.

Volusia schools missed that target this school year and were fined $2.7 million – an expense board members say they don't want to incur again. District estimates show an extra 123 teachers at a cost of about $7 million would be needed to meet class size limits in October.

School Board member Candace Lankford and chairwoman Diane Smith said they're willing to tap into district reserves to help balance the budget. The superintendent said that move would have to be approached with caution to keep the district financially sound as future funding of any services rescued now by reserves would be in doubt.

Volusia Teachers Organization President Andrew Spar has been meeting individually with board members in recent weeks, urging them to limit new budget cuts by covering some of the deficit with district reserves. He also wants the board to wait until it sees the new state budget to decide where to slash spending.

"Everyone is worried about the decisions being made," said the union president. "Our position is we shouldn't have any more cuts at the school level."

On the flip side of cutting the budget, Lankford and Diane Smith said they also want to look at ways of generating additional revenue, perhaps through allowing more advertising in schools and even on school buses if state law is changed to allow it.

No matter how much that might ease the budget crunch, School Board members are bracing for tough decisions on where to cut spending in the coming months.

"We're not going to be able to bake sale our way out of this," Lankford said.

<p>Kim Short and Joanna Kaney Olivari showed up at a Volusia County School Board meeting one week after voters rejected a school property tax hike in November, opposing any budget cuts that would harm their children's education and volunteering to help raise money if needed. </p><p>They've attended the board's meetings regularly ever since and plan to be there again Tuesday as the School Board starts looking at what to cut with a projected budget deficit of at least $25 million looming. </p><p>"I really don't know how we're going to dig out of this," said Olivari, who has two children at Pine Trail Elementary in Ormond Beach. "The priority needs to be to educate our children the best we can. The money just needs to be put in the right places." </p><p>"As a parent, I want the cuts to stay away from the classroom," said Short, who has three children at Sweetwater Elementary in Port Orange. "If parents aren't there and not standing up for their kids, who is going to stand up for them?" </p><p>School officials released a list of potential cuts before the tax vote that targeted elementary art and music programs, advanced and elective classes and pay for teachers to serve as coaches or club sponsors, among other things. </p><p>That list is still on the table, but school officials are looking elsewhere first in hopes of avoiding major cuts to classroom programs and student activities. </p><p>They say there are still too many unanswered questions &mdash; including how well Florida lawmakers will fund schools for the coming year and how much extra the district will have to spend on things like health insurance &mdash; to know if the budget ax can be stopped at the classroom door. </p><p>Tuesday's meeting is expected to be the first of several budget workshops, with decisions firmed up in May after lawmakers finish their annual session. </p><p>The School Board has already cut $80 million and 1,900 jobs since 2007, when state funding, property tax collections and enrollment started declining as the economy soured. </p><p>Gov. Rick Scott has proposed a $1.2 billion statewide increase in school funding for the year that starts July 1, but the final decision rests with the Legislature. Even if the governor gets his way, so much of the increase would be earmarked for specific purposes such as teachers' raises that Superintendent Margaret Smith expects only about $5 million would be available to help plug Volusia's budget hole. </p><p>One of the School Board's first steps to turn the tide of red ink was a vote this month to outsource 485 custodial and grounds maintenance jobs beginning in July. Based on industry averages, staff has estimated the district could save between $15 million and $21 million over four years. </p><p>Private firms have yet to submit proposals on taking over the school district services, and the board and superintendent have said they won't move ahead with outsourcing unless it would offer "substantial savings." </p><p>School Board member Linda Costello said taxpayers have been encouraging her to take a look at hiring private firms to take over other services now handled by school district employees, including garbage collection. "The majority of input I'm getting is to privatize everything that can be privatized," she said. </p><p>Employee salaries and benefits account for 82 percent of the $459 million operating budget, so school district workers may see some of the cuts coming out of their paychecks. Smith has already mentioned the possibility of furloughs that could last two weeks or a month and cutting some employees' work schedules from 12 months to 10 months. </p><p>The teacher workforce, which absorbed half the job cuts of the last six years, isn't as likely to be trimmed a lot this time around because school officials say they're committed to meeting the state constitutional limits on class size next fall. </p><p>Volusia schools missed that target this school year and were fined $2.7 million – an expense board members say they don't want to incur again. District estimates show an extra 123 teachers at a cost of about $7 million would be needed to meet class size limits in October. </p><p>School Board member Candace Lankford and chairwoman Diane Smith said they're willing to tap into district reserves to help balance the budget. The superintendent said that move would have to be approached with caution to keep the district financially sound as future funding of any services rescued now by reserves would be in doubt. </p><p>Volusia Teachers Organization President Andrew Spar has been meeting individually with board members in recent weeks, urging them to limit new budget cuts by covering some of the deficit with district reserves. He also wants the board to wait until it sees the new state budget to decide where to slash spending. </p><p>"Everyone is worried about the decisions being made," said the union president. "Our position is we shouldn't have any more cuts at the school level." </p><p>On the flip side of cutting the budget, Lankford and Diane Smith said they also want to look at ways of generating additional revenue, perhaps through allowing more advertising in schools and even on school buses if state law is changed to allow it. </p><p>No matter how much that might ease the budget crunch, School Board members are bracing for tough decisions on where to cut spending in the coming months. </p><p>"We're not going to be able to bake sale our way out of this," Lankford said.</p>